From protest to progress through partnership with students: Being human in STEM (HSTEM)

Auteurs-es

  • Sarah Bunnell
  • Megan Lyster
  • Kristen Greenland
  • Gabrielle Mayer
  • Kristen Gardner
  • Tanya Leise
  • Thea Kristensen
  • Emma D Ryan
  • Richmond Ampiah-Bonney
  • Sheila S Jaswal Amherst College

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v5i1.4243

Mots-clés :

inclusion, diversity, STEM, equity, students-as-partners

Résumé

In Fall 2015, Amherst College students held a four-day sit-in in unity with student protests occurring all over the United States highlighting barriers to inclusion of underrepresented and marginalized students.Following appeals for action, students partnered with faculty and staff in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to develop the Being Human in STEM (HSTEM) Initiative. HSTEM involves exploring past diversity and inclusion efforts in STEM, sharing one’s own experiences in STEM with others, and developing student-driven projects to improve belonging in STEM. In this student, faculty, and staff co-authored paper, we describe the origin of HSTEM; share student, faculty and staff reflections on our experiences with HSTEM; and present two inquiry projects examining HSTEM impact. We discuss lessons learned and recommendations for diversity and inclusion efforts in higher education, both in and beyond STEM, emphasizing the power of an initiative that was originated by and remains driven by student partners.

Téléchargements

Les données relatives au téléchargement ne sont pas encore disponibles.

Références

Acai, A., Akesson, B., Allen, M., Chen, V., Mathany, C., McCollum, B., Spencer, J., & Verwoord,
R.E.M. (2017). Conceptualizations of success in student-faculty/staff SoTL partnerships: Motivations, challenges, power, and definitions. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 8(2).
Adelman, R.M., Bodford, J.E., Graudejus, O., Hermann, S.D., Kwan, V.S.Y., & Okun, M.A.
(2016). The effects of a female role model on academic performance and persistence in women in STEM courses. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 38(5), 258-268.
Appel, M., Aronson, J., & Kronberger, N. (2011). Stereotype threat impairs ability building:
Effects on test preparation among women in science and technology. European Journal of Social Psychology, 41(7), 904-913.
Aronson, J., Quinn, D.M., & Spencer, S.J. (1998). Stereotype threat and the academic
underperformance of minorities and women. In J.K. Swim & C. Stangor (Eds.), Prejudice: The target’s perspective (p. 83-103). Academic Press.
De Bie, A., Marquis, E., Cook-Sather, A., & Luqueño, L.P. (2019). Valuing knowledge(s) and
cultivating confidence: Contributions of student-faculty pedagogical partnerships to epistemic justice. In J. Hoffman, P. Blessinger, and M. Makhanya (Eds.), Strategies for fostering inclusive classrooms in higher education: International perspectives on equity and inclusion, 16. doi: 10.1108/S2055-364120190000016004
Beasley, M.A. & Fischer, M.J. (2012). Why they leave: The impact of stereotype threat on the
attrition of women and minorities from science, math, and engineering majors. Social Psychology of Education, 15(4), 427-448.
Being Human in STEM Documentary (n.d.). http://www.beinghumaninstem.com/documentary.html
Bloch-Shulman, S. & Castor, M. (2015). I am not trying to be defiant, I am trying to be your
partner: How to help students navigate educational institutions that do not value democratic practice. Partnerships: A Journal of Service Learning and Civic Engagement, 6(1).
Bohan, A., Ryan, E., Lyster, M., & Jaswal, S.S. (2017). The Being Human in STEM Initiative.
Workshop presented at the Understanding Interventions that Broaden Participation in Science Careers Conference, San Antonio, Texas.
Bovill, C. (2017). A framework to explore roles within student-staff partnerships in higher
education: Which students are partners, when, and in what ways? International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(1).
Bovill, C., Cook-Sather, A., & Felten, P. (2011). Students as co-creators of teaching approaches,
course design, and curricula: Implications for academic developers. International Journal for Academic Development, 16(2), 133-145. doi: 10.1080/1360144X.2011.568690
Bovill, C., Cook-Sather, A., Felten, P., Millard, L. & Moore-Cherry, N. (2016). Addressing
potential challenges in co-creating learning and teaching: Overcoming resistance, navigating institutional norms and ensuring inclusivity in student-staff partnerships. Higher Education, 71, 195-208. doi: 10.1007/s10734-015-9896-4.
Bridges B.K., Cambridge, B., Kuh, G.D., & Leegwater, L.H. (2005). Student engagement at
minority-serving institutions: Emerging lessons from the BEAMS project. New Directions for Institutional Research, 125, 25-43. doi:10.1002/ir.137.
Bunnell, S.L. Lin, B., Ednie, M., Lyster, M., & Jaswal, S.S. (2019). Being human in STEM: How to
build community and increase student success in the science and beyond. Association of American Colleges and Universities Diversity, Equity, and Student Success Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Chickering, A.W.. & Gamson, Z.F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate
education. AAHE Bulletin, 39(7), 3-7.
Cook-Sather, A. & Abbot, S. (2016). Translating partnerships: How faculty-student collaboration
in explorations of teaching and learning can transform perceptions, terms, and selves. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 4(2).
Cook-Sather, A. (2015). Dialogue across differences of position, perspective, and identity:
Reflective practice in/on student-faculty pedagogical partnership programs. Teachers College Record, 117(2).
Cook-Sather, A. (2018). Listening to equity-seeking perspectives: How students’ experiences of
pedagogical partnership can inform wider discussion of student success. Higher Education Research & Development, 37(5), 923-936.
Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in teaching and
learning: A guide for faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Degol, J., & Wang, M. (2017). Gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (STEM): Current knowledge, implications for practice, and future directions. Educational Psychology Review, 29(1), 119 140.
Espinosa, L. (2011). Pipelines and pathways: Women of color in undergraduate STEM majors
and the college experiences that contribute to persistence. Harvard Educational Review, 81(2), 209-241.
Espinosa, L.L., Turk, J.M., Taylor, M., & Chessman, H.M. (2019). Race and Ethnicity in Higher
Education: A Status Report. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
Estrada, M., Burnett, M., Campbell, A.G., Campbell, P.B., Denetclaw, W.F., Gutierrez, C.G.,
Hurtado, et al. (2016). Improving underrepresented minority student persistence in STEM. CBE Life Science Education, 15(3), 1-10.
Gurin, P., Dey, E.L., Hurtado, S., & Gurin, G. (2002). Diversity in higher education: Theory and
impact on educational outcomes. Harvard Educational Review, 72, 330-366.
Gurin, P., Lehman, J.S., Lewis, E., Dey, E.L., Gurin, G., & Hurtado, S. (2004). Defending
diversity: Affirmative action at the University of Michigan. University of Michigan Press. doi: 10.3998/mpub.17844
Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2014). Engagement through partnership: Students
as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. York: Higher Education Academy.
Higher Education Research Institute (2010). Degrees of success: Degree completion rates among
initial STEM majors. Los Angeles, California: UCLA. Retrieved from: https://heri.ucla.edu/publications/
Hussar, W.J., & Bailey, T.M. (2018). Projections of education statistics to 2026 (45th edition).
National Center for Education Statistics.
Jaswal, S. (2019). Being human in STEM: Moving from student protest to institutional progress.
Association of American Colleges and Universities Diversity and Democracy, 22(1).
Kets, W., & Sandroni, A. (2016). Challenging conformity: A case for diversity. Social Science
Research Network. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2871490
National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
(2019). Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering.
Special Report. Alexandria: VA: National Science Foundation.
Matthews, K.E., Dwyer, A., Russell, S., & Enright, E. (2018). It is a complicated thing: Leader’s’
conceptions of students as partners in the neoliberal university. Studies in Higher Education. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2018.1482268
May, G.S. & Chubin, D.E. (2013). A retrospective on undergraduate engineering success for
underrepresented minority students. The Research Journal for Engineering Education, 92(1), 27-39.
Mayhew, M.J., Grunwald, H.E., & Dey, E.L. (2005). Curriculum matters: Creating a positive
climate for diversity from the student perspective. Research in Higher Education, 46, 389-412.
Mercer-Mapstone, L. Dvorakova, L.S., Matthews, K.E., Abbot, S., Cheng, B., Felten, P.,
Knorr, K., Marquis, E., Shammas, R., & Swaim, K. (2017). A systematic literature review of students as partners in higher educations. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(1), 1-23.
Ong, M., Wright, C., Espinosa, L.L., & Orfield, G. (2011). Inside the double bind: A synthesis of
empirical research on undergraduate and graduate women of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Harvard Educational Review, 81(2), 172-208.
Schneider, C.G. (2014). Making excellence inclusive: Liberal education and America’s promise.
Liberal Education, 100 (4). Association of American Colleges & Universities.
Witham, K., Malcolm-Piqueux, L.E., Dowd, A.C., & Bensimon, E.M. (2015). America’s Unmet
Promise: The Imperative for Equity in Higher Education. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Téléchargements

Publié-e

2021-05-07

Comment citer

Bunnell, S., Lyster, M., Greenland, K., Mayer, G., Gardner, K., Leise, T., Kristensen, T., Ryan, E. D., Ampiah-Bonney, R., & Jaswal, S. S. (2021). From protest to progress through partnership with students: Being human in STEM (HSTEM). International Journal for Students as Partners, 5(1), 26–56. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v5i1.4243

Numéro

Rubrique

Research Articles